Empower

by Jessica Shirvington

  “No,” I sighed. “They’re like watching death.”

  Her eyes met mine. “I can see how you would feel that, but that’s not what I see.”

  I swallowed and eased my arm back, refitting my bracelet.

  “He gave me a message for you,” she said.

  “What?”

  Chloe looked around the room nervously.

  I nodded her on. “It’s okay. You can speak in front of them.”

  She took another sip of water then looked back at me. “He said to tell you: it’s a trap.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Chloe, is Spence in trouble because of me?”

  She lifted a shoulder weakly. “I don’t know. We’d been sent out on a mission but Spence was…he was different about this one. He’d requested the assignment and been secretive about why. The only secrets he ever keeps from me are ones to do with you, so I figured…”

  I nodded, trying to show her the apology in my eyes. She seemed to understand.

  “Spence was using a glamour to get in close to a group of humans. They’re working for this one exile, and they’re part of these tournaments going on everywhere.”

  “I know the ones,” I said.

  She nodded and licked her lips. “We thought he worked alone at first, but we were wrong. Very wrong. We realized pretty quickly that we’d severely underestimated him. He’s so much more powerful than anything I’ve…but Spence…”

  “Spence what?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure what happened, but he suddenly changed. And then we were on the run. I could feel them coming after us, but Spence refused to tell me what was happening. He just kept telling me he was going to get me out of there.”

  “Chloe, what happened?”

  “We were weaving our way toward an old Grigori safe house in Mexico that Spence knew about. We were almost there but they found us. There were six exiles, plus their humans. Spence knew I couldn’t…”

  “It’s okay, Chloe,” I assured her.

  She swallowed. “The exiles captured us and sent us off with the humans. But they weren’t like ordinary humans. They were different.”

  “How?” Steph asked.

  Chloe’s attention turned to Steph for the first time, and she smiled warmly. I could tell they had formed a friendship.

  “You know how when people are being controlled by exiles but they don’t seem to be aware of it—they just see things like they’re in daze?”

  We all nodded.

  “Well, these people—it was like they knew the truth and they were okay with it. They’d somehow accepted it and genuinely worshipped the exiles. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were possessed or some kind of…”

  “What? Like a cult?” I asked.

  “No. Like smart, wealthy people, all driven and working toward something. Like Scientology. They shot us with enough tranquilizers to take down a herd of elephants.”

  “What did they do with you?” I asked, my stomach sinking. If they had Spence, it was not going to be easy to get him back.

  “They have places all over the world. They moved us every day, never staying in one place. They kept us drugged and moved us on a private plane. We left Mexico and went to Quebec, Toronto, Washington. On the fourth day, when they flew us to Austin, Spence made his move. We’d been getting stronger without them knowing, developing immunity to the sedatives. Once Spence had enough control, it wasn’t too difficult for him to take down the humans. He grabbed me and we ran into the commercial airport. He got me a ticket to New York and told me to leave. I thought we’d be coming here together but he wasn’t having it.” Tears started to slip down her cheeks, and I gripped her hand even though my insides clenched with worry.

  “He told me that I had to find you. He said to make sure I used your surname. He said to tell you he’s still got your back and he knows he’ll see you soon.”

  Spence knew me well, and I couldn’t help but love that although he’d said it was a trap, he knew for sure that I’d go anyway.

  Now I just need to know where.

  “Can you sense him?” I asked.

  “Only that he’s alive. But I’m still pretty weak.”

  With Chloe’s permission, I finished healing her. Tears streamed down her face but she didn’t make a sound. When I released her hands, she opened her eyes.

  “Now can you sense him?” I asked.

  She concentrated. “He’s in the country. He’s south, but I can’t tell you exactly where.”

  “That helps,” Steph said.

  I shook my head, still trying to make sense of it all. “So if Spence sent you back here, what happened to you?”

  “Most of the damage is from the humans keeping us down. And when we got free of them, I got on the plane like Spence said, but then I saw him through the window, moving around on the tarmac. A few minutes later, I saw an exile following him.”

  “Spence didn’t know?” Zoe asked, seeing where this was headed. No Grigori could stand back and watch their partner be taken down.

  Chloe shook her head.

  “You got off,” Zoe concluded.

  “Yes. But the moment I did, I was hit from behind.”

  “And they just left you there?” Salvatore asked, voicing my own suspicions. But for Salvatore, I knew it was more: he was seeking lies. It was his gift.

  She bit her lip. “I don’t know why they didn’t take me again. Or kill me.”

  Neither did I. Discreetly, I glanced at Salvatore and registered his small nod. Chloe was telling the truth.

  “Maybe they wanted to make sure you were found,” Steph offered. “If someone was waiting for you the moment you got off the plane, maybe it was to make sure you really left. When you got off, they knocked you out but put you where you’d be discovered, knowing the Academy would eventually find you.”

  I looked up at Steph’s worried expression.

  “Because they knew she’d come to me,” I said, seeing where she was going.

  Because the bald exile had seen Spence that night. He’d been the only other one there at Lilith’s estate—the only link to me besides Phoenix and Lincoln.

  “I think so,” Steph agreed.

  “Spence is right. It’s a trap.”

  And he’s the bait.

  Steph tilted her head. “You don’t seem surprised.”

  I wasn’t. I’d been waiting for the bald-headed exile to come after me since the other night.

  And now I’ve put Spence’s life in danger.

  “I’ve come to expect this kind of stuff,” I said, hoping my expression would tell Steph to let it go for now. I looked back at Chloe. “Did you keep notes on the locations held by this human organization?”

  She nodded.

  “Do they have a place in New York?”

  She nodded again. “Offices and tournament sites.”

  “Where are the files?” I asked, hoping they were here.

  Chloe tapped her head. “It’s my gift. I don’t need to keep notes. I am the note.”

  I rolled my eyes at her naïveté. “Until someone kills you.”

  She blanched.

  “Sorry,” I said. “So it works like a photographic memory?”

  “Kind of, but it’s triggered by my emotions. I remember everything because of how I felt at that moment, and that creates a visual rehashing of the event, along with all of the smells, the environment, and my feelings. I can relive a moment completely. I can share my memory with another person if they have a connection to it themselves and even tap into someone else’s memories if they have a strong enough emotion from any one event.”

  I quickly stepped away from the bed. “I trust that’s something that requires permission first?”

  “Of course,” she responded, holding my gaze.

  There are some memori
es that should never be rehashed.

  “There’s one more thing,” Chloe said, her eyes now showing her deep fear.

  “What is it?”

  “His name. I never saw him but I heard them talking. They call him Sammael.”

  I bit down on the insides of my cheeks, needing the distraction. Having a name made it all that much more real. “That’s a good help. Thanks, Chloe,” I said, giving her a quick nod before I turned.

  “Violet!” she called out.

  I paused and turned back to her. “I’ll find him, Chloe. I promise.” I looked to Salvatore and Zoe. “Can you hang around and get the list of properties, focusing on what they have in New York and south of here?”

  Salvatore nodded instantly.

  I tossed my empty coffee cup into a trash can.

  “Where are you going?” Zoe called after me as I walked out the door.

  “To set a few things straight,” I said over my shoulder. “Whatever is going on here, Spence needs me and there’s no way in hell I’m leaving him out there alone.”

  I made it to the elevator before Steph took up position beside me, checking her watch. “We’d better head straight there. Lincoln will already have the meeting underway.”

  I nodded, knowing I was headed for round two.

  The difference? This time I was ready.

  “We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.”

  François de La Rochefoucauld

  Sometimes we knowingly fool ourselves. Sometimes there is no way to control what’s going on, so we just lie to avoid facing facts. The calm before the storm. Because there is no other way.

  I strode purposefully toward the meeting room. My emotions were in check, my hood was back in place, and I ignored the inquisitive eyes as I walked through the halls. But as soon as I entered the meeting room and felt the intensity flowing from the presence at the head of the main table, I knew there was little time left to hide.

  Steph stayed with me at the back of the room. I peeked through my hood, noting that Lincoln had angled his body away from us—another clear message. But it was a new day and I wasn’t going to let myself get caught up in his behavior. I was completely shut off, surrounded by nothing but my ever-present coldness.

  Tick. Tick.

  “Our sources have told us there’s a group of humans organizing an exile tournament this week in Manhattan.”

  “Is there a chance they’re connected with the group Spence and Chloe were investigating?” Josephine asked from beside Lincoln before taking a sip from a china cup.

  “There’s a good chance,” Lincoln confirmed.

  The door opened again and Gray moved into the room and took up position on my other side. He’d discarded his robe. When I looked up at his bloodshot eyes, he gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged. With an unveiled Gray beside me, the amount of unwanted attention on us multiplied.

  Tick. Tick.

  “Hakon,” Lincoln went on, holding up a sheet of paper, “are you confident this is the right address?”

  I heard Hakon, one of the highest-ranking Grigori and a member of the Assembly, speak up from somewhere on the other side of the room. “It’s a good source, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to verify,” he said.

  “I think we might be able to do that in a few minutes,” Steph said. She’d moved a few feet away from me. Not that it mattered. Lincoln didn’t look in her direction.

  “How?” he asked, feigning sudden interest in the file he was holding.

  “Chloe is awake,” Steph answered, sounding meek for the first time. Before Lincoln could speak, she continued. “She said the group they were trying to infiltrate had an office here. Zoe and Salvatore are getting the details from her now.”

  The tension was palpable in the silence before Lincoln seemed to snap out of it. “Fine. As soon as we get that, we’ll assemble a team and raid the building. We’ll run surveillance today and take them first thing tomorrow. It’s not ideal, but we need to ensure all the right people will be there. Office hours will be best.”

  I took a deep breath.

  Tock.

  “A full-on attack is unnecessary.” My voice was so surprisingly steady I almost turned to Gray for a quick high five.

  “I beg your pardon?” Lincoln responded, tilting his head but still angling away from me.

  I closed my eyes briefly then took a step forward and lowered my hood. I ignored the sudden murmurs that filled the room and set my eyes on Lincoln, who had finally turned in my direction.

  So perfectly green. God, no memory could ever do your eyes justice.

  I cleared my throat. “An attack will only alert the exile controlling all of this that we are coming in force.”

  Lincoln held my gaze with little outward effort. I tried to affect the same response even as I felt the connection between us course through my entire being.

  “That’s hardly a problem as far as I can see; it might draw them out of the woodwork. And may I remind you that you are here as a guest. I’ll tolerate that, but mind your place. This is not your mission, and you will not be required to offer an opinion.”

  If my emotions had not been shut down so tightly, his behavior would have caused a flare of pain and then anger. Lincoln knew how much I cared for Spence. He also knew that it wasn’t smart to cut out opinion if it could lead to a good solution.

  I took another step forward, my eyes narrowing on him slightly. I wasn’t about to stand by and watch Spence get hurt.

  “While I appreciate your tolerance, I think you’re missing the point.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what would that be?”

  I glanced briefly in Josephine’s direction, hoping in vain that she might speak on my behalf. But she appeared content playing the spectator, her eyes darting back and forth between Lincoln and me.

  “If Spence had wanted you and your team to lead this rescue, then he would have sent Chloe back with a message for you. Not to mention she’s been hiding the fact that she’s been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past couple days, waiting until I arrived.” I crossed my arms now, mirroring him.

  You could have heard a pin drop.

  Lincoln’s face remained impressively impassive given that I’d just challenged him in front of the entire room. “Message?”

  “He’s alive.” I didn’t miss his instant relief, and I was comforted to see a glimpse of his familiar sincerity.

  He’s still in there somewhere.

  I heard a gasp from the opposite side of the room and followed it to Mia. Morgan had her arm around Mia’s shoulders as Mia hurriedly wiped her eyes. My brow furrowed but I turned back to the more pressing matters.

  “We have a name to go on. Sammael,” I said. I swallowed before adding, “You’ve seen him before.”

  Lincoln raised his eyebrows.

  I fought back the memories. “Bald. Short, for an exile. Suit. Glasses. Br—”

  “Briefcase,” he cut me off.

  I nodded.

  Lincoln glanced at Max and Morgan. “Take his name up to the libraries and see what they can dig up on him.”

  As soon as Max and Morgan were out the door, Lincoln turned back to me, his mouth set in a straight line. “What else?”

  “Spence was tracking him when the tables turned on them. When he was separated from Chloe, they were headed south, and it looks like he’s still somewhere in that direction. Still in the country. He told Chloe to tell me it was a trap.”

  Lincoln threw a hand in the air. “Well, there you go. Doesn’t sound like he wants you after all.”

  “And then he said he’d see me soon,” I fired back. “I guess he knows me well.”

  Lincoln’s eyes narrowed at that statement. “What are you suggesting, Violet?” His voice broke slig
htly on my name as if he struggled to say it.

  I shrugged. “Run your surveillance today. I’ll take a few of your people tonight, if they’re willing, to cover the perimeter of the building. Gray and I will go in and find out what they know about Spence and this exile. Once I know where Spence is, I’ll take a team with me to go and get him. Then I’ll bring him back here.”

  Lincoln laughed. “You’re delusional if you think that’s going to happen.”

  I shook my head and spoke before he could. “Academy tactics are too obvious. They’ll be waiting for you, and they’ll be ready. People will get hurt and Spence will be put in unnecessary danger. I won’t allow that. I’m sorry.”

  “For which part!” he roared, causing me to flinch before he quickly pulled his mask back in place. It was the first real emotion I’d seen from him, and I had to force myself not to take a step toward him. Lincoln took a deep breath and then asked, “How exactly do you think you’re going to lead anyone from here? Why should they follow you?” He took a step toward me, showing the assembled Grigori he had no problem being in my space. “I’m not saying you have no right to help find Spence. He obviously sent Chloe to speak with you for a reason. If you agree to do as instructed and stay out of our way…”

  Out of your way, you mean.

  “…I’ll consider letting you come along.”

  It was my turn to laugh. But I sobered quickly and took my own confident step into the center of the room. I didn’t miss the small step back that he took.

  “Clearly you’ve misunderstood me at some fundamental level, so let me be crystal clear. Spence asked for me and I’ll be leading this rescue, Lincoln, whether you like it or not.”

  “If you’re challenging his leadership, there is only one way to do it,” Josephine said coolly from her place at the head of the table, drawing the attention of the entire room. “You must challenge in physical combat.”

  I glared at her. She smiled in understanding. “There is a main-hall gathering scheduled this afternoon. If you wish to challenge, you can do so there in front of the Academy and Assembly members. If you want our resources and power behind you and insist on taking point, this is the only way.”